Death sentences for Thai Muslim separatists condemned

BANGKOK: Human rights groups on Friday condemned the Thai authorities for sentencing five alleged Muslim separatists to death, saying the punishment would do little to promote peace in the violence-racked south. The men were convicted on Wednesday by the Pattani provincial court for shooting dead four soldiers in July 2013, Thai Rath, the country’s largest circulation newspaper, reported. They were named as Ismail Daong, Masahadi Methor, Gordae Jatae, Nimuhammud Niseng, and Hisbulloh Buesa.